To be eligible, you and your partner must be familiar with USTA rules. Eligible club members are welcome to sign up and join the fun.
This ladder is for mixed doubles only at this time. Players are allowed to be in more than one team. As we attract more interest we can later expand to other categories and levels.
1. So what is a ladder system?
You must sign up your team before you can make your first challenge. Do this by sending an email to the TLA. All teams will be on a ladder list, initially all at the same level, all unrated. Teams challenge each other. If a team lower down the ladder beats a higher placed team, the winning team takes the spot of the loser, and the loser moves down one spot. Since we are all starting in the same spot, the first challenge will fill Spots 1 and 2, and the rest will be in Spot 3. The next challenge between two unrated teams will fill Spots 3 and 4, and so on. Unrated teams can challenge any spot on the ladder. Rated teams can only challenge up to three spots above them. Once a team has completed a challenge match, that team is no longer unrated. The losing team in an unrated match will be placed at the bottom of the ladder.
Please note that you must sign up your team before you can make your first challenge. Do this by submitting your name and your partner's name to the TLA by email.
2. Challenging
2.a. A rated team may challenge another team ranked up to three rungs above it provided however, that any team ranked above the challenging team that contains a member of the challenging team shall be disregarded for the purposes of determining the highest ranking team that can be challenged. This means that any team containing a member of the challenging team does not count as one of the three rungs.
2.b. A challenge can be placed via email (cc the TLA (tennis Ladder Administrator)). The team being challenged must accept the challenge, modify the date, or refuse the challenge. Refusing a challenge without offering alternate date(s) for the challenge match is considered a forfeit.
2.c. The challenging team arranges the match with the defending team and once the date and time have been decided the TLA is informed (preferably by email cc all parties) so that the challenge can be entered in the ladder calendar. That makes the challenge official. Any team who is unable to meet an official challenge forfeits the match.
2.d. Once a challenge has been accepted and a date has been agreed upon by both teams the challenge is reported to the TLA and posted on the challenge calendar, making the challenge official. The challenge holds regardless of the standings of the two teams at the time of the challenge, except when the challenge match is rescheduled for a later date as agreed upon by all parties. In this case the three-rung rule again applies, i.e., the two teams must be within three positions apart to play a challenge match.
2.e. A two-week waiting period is required before the two teams can re-challenge each other. The winning team is responsible for reporting the match result to the TLA.
2.f. If a player is unavailable to play a challenge match for a period of 30 consecutive days or more, his (or her) team will be tagged as unavailable on the ladder and will be indicated by “(U)” after the team name. A challenging team can challenge up to three available team above it, not counting inactive teams, or teams where any of the challenging team members is also a member.
2.g. It is the responsibility of the player to notify the TLA when his (or her) status changes from active to inactive or vice versa so that the ladder can be updated accordingly.
2.h. If a team is inactive for three consecutive months, that team will become unrated and will be moved to the unrated group. All the teams below it will move up one position.
3. Match Rules
The challenging team will provide new balls and will be responsible for reserving a court.
BEST TWO OUT OF THREE SETS – All challenge matches must be played in the best two out of three sets format with a seven-point tiebreaker played if any set is tied at 6-6. Players will spin a racquet or flip a coin to determine the initial serve or side of the court. The Rules of Tennis will apply to all challenge matches so please become familiar with such rules. These rules may be found at www.usta.com.
4. Challenges and results will be posted in the blog and the ladder updated accordingly.
5. Share your experience and thoughts
All ladder participants will be invited to be contributors to the blog. You can post photos, comments or anything of interest to the group. Your posts will be moderated by the TLA.
